Page 2934 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 14 September 1994
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With regard to prostitution, the Assembly has now adopted legislation which I believe is the best in Australia and a model for other jurisdictions. While the Select Committee on Euthanasia did not support the Voluntary and Natural Death Bill, it did agree that the chairman, Michael Moore, should proceed to draft the Medical Treatment Bill, which of course we debated in principle this morning and which is likely to achieve majority support in this Assembly. Similarly, the Conservation, Heritage and Environment Committee considered the Government's Smoke-free Areas (Enclosed Public Places) Bill and recommended that the legislation be amended substantially to take account of the committee's recommendations. What I am saying, Madam Speaker, is that the referral of these issues to Assembly committees is a worthwhile process from which much can be achieved. It is also a normal process, especially where landmark legislation is concerned.
Madam Speaker, I can understand the Opposition's reluctance to support this move. They have been working on the drafting of the Community Referendum Bill for a long time, and many of their members - perhaps all of their members - have a greater understanding of the context in which citizens-initiated referendums have arisen in other places and the detail of the process than I or other members of the Assembly have. A committee process will be a frustrating exercise for members of the Opposition, given their extensive knowledge of the subject matter. However, I am sure that it would not be a frustrating process for other members of the committee or of this Assembly who want to increase their knowledge of the subject matter under consideration.
I am sure that Government members themselves can acknowledge the frustration from their own point of view when legislation with which they are familiar is then referred to an Assembly committee for further discussion and debate. A recent case in point is the package of mental health legislation which, in its draft exposure form, was referred to the Assembly's Social Policy Committee for further inquiry on 14 September 1993. The chair of the committee, Ms Ellis, presented the committee's report to the Assembly on 21 April this year, and the final legislation, drafted to take into account the committee's recommendations, was debated and passed during the August sittings of this Assembly.
Madam Speaker, the select committee has a valuable opportunity to explore the background and political context of the development of community-initiated referendums as it has occurred both overseas and within Australia, and I am sure that committee members will benefit from that process. It is likely that the committee will also call for public submissions and hold public hearings to assist it in its deliberations, enabling the wider community to participate in the process and understand what community-initiated referendums are all about.
Let me speak specifically about the terms of reference proposed. It seems sensible to refer to the select committee both Bills currently before the Assembly. I think it is important, in order to increase members' understanding of the issue, that the political context, rationale for and implementation and operation of similar processes, both within and outside Australia, be examined. This would not necessarily involve visits to overseas countries to gain an understanding of the issues, but it would be an information gathering exercise and research task which could be undertaken by the committee itself with secretariat support.
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